El Investigador #03 (English)

7/30/2019 El Investigador #03 (English)

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El Investigador is a free distribution retrofuturistic themed magazine

- Numero 3 -- October -- Mexico 2012 -



“REWARD”If you’re reading this publication we share one thing in common and that is we both likeRetrofuturism. Itdoesn’t matter if it is a genre or subgenre, no matter if it is only one, several or all.

You, us and the rest of those who have hooked in this way, we did it by the same door: the rst thematic im-age that we saw, it caught us and we begin to explore the intricate universe of the bastard sons of cyberpunk.Maybe you are attracted to the root, since its origins, perhaps the literature of H.G. Wells or Julio Verne; you

can even without being fond of history, science, philosophy or the arts, it’s irresistible to feel some attraction tothe aesthetics of a retrofuturistic movement.

This is our third issue and November 2010 seems so distant, when Brigadier Bennet Winterman appeared forthe rst time, then came December accompanied by Chocolate. January just gave time to append a German

touch to an already underway history and later in February came a joke called “The Rápido of Sabine”.

There began the adventure that gave birth “El Investigador” in March and that brought us to this restructur-ing that we hope you enjoy. In addition after ve months of work and in the middle of a rain of conventions,meetings and other events of the movement, we are nervous, and excited - we must confess - presenting youa small preview of our project “Retrofuturism: 1875”; a preview of our series “Reward” set in the Weird Wild

West written by N. Inmunsapá and soon adapted into comic format.

Hoping that this edition meets the expectations of everyone; both the people that committed and work in thismagazine, like yours, that read us just now.

Be sure to do so in the future where, month to month, we continue to investigate in the past. That will certainly

be our Reward.




N. InmunsapáGENERL DIECTO

EDITORIAL

COUNCIL

THIS PUBLICATION IS

PRODUCED BY

Araceli Rodríguez(Von Marmalade)

EDIO-IN-CHIEF

Mr. XpkLAYOUT

CONTIBUTOS

TRNSLATIONS

Hodson, Rouge Girl, Elisa,J Keats, Meyrilu Wendorf.

Miguel Ángel Manzo Martínez,Carolina Hase, Abel Hernán Arias,Araceli Rodríguez, Pablo Begué,María Gutiérrez, Ecce Mono.

This publications respectsthe authors’ rights, whichmeans that every illustrationpublished has been obtainedtrough legal ways in several

commercial stocks.Every illustration isproperty of its author.

Note for the Anglo-World

The Interview Alternate History

Reward

Kinetoscopio

Micro-Scope

Le Petit Trianon

División Lúdica

Retrofuturismo

Jules Verne in Mexico Victorianism without Victoria

En El Archivo

4

68

9

12

13

18

19

20

2224

27



Seven months ago we published

our second i ssue o f “ElInvestigador International” and

the truth is that we had the intention

to continue translating in a regular

way but it has not been possible.

Our monthly releases in Spanish andother proyects we have, as creatives

colective Mercenarios de DIOS, keep

us very busy. However, and thanks to

the big effort of our translation team,

here we are, bringing to the anglo

world a better project. So this time wehave for you a revised version of our

magazine, where we are not limitated to

translating the articles appeared in May

2011, but choose some of the best and

added others from afterwards issues,

plus some exclusive for you, hopping

to offer a fresh issue, interesting for

all of you who have been waiting for

the opportunity to read the content

of our pages. This way, we begin with

this publication directed not only to

the Hispanic world but to the entire

world.

Welcome, then, to this timeless journeyof words and stories, welcome to

“El Investigador International” N° 3.

N. Inmunsapá

General Director

A NOTE TO

THE ANGLO WORLD






V ernian Process is a music bandformed in San Francisco in 2003. It takesname from the works of Jules Verne, andthey create their music around themessuch as the Scientic Romance of the Victorian era and its current counterpart,the Steampunk.

In words spoken by Janus Zárate, bassistof the band:

W e know that Vernian Process

started as the project of Josh Pfeiffer

to create “Steampunk music” 9

years ago. Since then, many things

have happened and according to the

data on you, some people has come

and gone from the group, even we

learned that you count with a new

drummer for the Gaslight Gathering

on May 7 in San Diego. Who conformcurrently VP and what role play within

the Group?

Martin Irigoyen:VP is currently formedby Josh Pfeiffer in Vocals, I (Martin Irigoyen)on guitar and effects, Peter Zarate “Janus”on bass and effects, Brian Figueroa onkeyboards and accordion, and EugeneDyer III on drums and percussion. Wealso have the great honor of Erica Mulkey “Unwoman” as guest in live presentations with the cello.

Janus Zarate:Each member contributes something more than just their musicalskills. Martin is our producer. Josh writesmany of the lyrics of our songs. I am incharge of our web site and the commercialaspects of the band. Brian and Kyle areinvolved in promotions.

On your website, the album

“Behold the Machine” is presented

as an anthology to Victorian science

ction; personally it seemed inevitable

to note “Unhallowed Metropolis” as

a clear reference to the role-playing

game of the same name. In which

other works were the songs inspired?

MI: Each song has a different origin,but as to what works: 20,000 Leaguesunder the Sea by Jules Verne, has directly inuenced the creation of “The Exile” and“Into the Depths”. “The Last Express” was born from a Josh’s dream.

JZ: Real characters have also inspiredsome songs. “Queen of the Delta” is basedon the famous Voodoo Priestess, MarieLaveau. “The Curse of Whitechapel”is sung from Jack the Ripper’s perspective,the notorious murderer of the VictorianLondon.

It is very clear in these timesidentifying the Steampunk aesthetic,

the look; what can you say about

the sound? What is the sound of

Steampunk music?

MI: I do not think that there is a cleardenition, or a set of rules to follow when we talk about Steampunk music. Ourpersonal philosophy is that if the musicevokes Neo-Victorian or Steampunkimages, then it qualies as such.

JZ: But there are some traits sharedby the music of the most recognizedbands. Speaking generally, combiningthe instruments of the old world withthe modern genres and lyrics of theanachronistic world.

Then, could we be talking about

Dieselpunk and/or Clockpunk music?

JZ: There are artists that could tinto the category Dieselpunk. It makes

me think of swing, blues, theremin,jazz, carnivals, spies and detectives: Dr.Steel, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Lee Person,bands like them. Some of our songscorrespond to the “Noir” description:“Queen of the Delta”, “The MapleLeaf Rag”. Clockpunk is another mat-ter. What is the sound of a Renaissanceanachronism? I don’t know... but someone will invent it eventually!

MI: Of course. If there is a desire to

make music with a label in mind, everythingis possible.

Unlike other movements, the

Steampunk emerges from the science

ction literature and manifests in

various artistic elds; in addition

to the scientic romanticism of the

19th century, Victorian fashion and

the creation of devices - functional

“Good morning! I am Janus Zárate, bassist of VernianProcess. We are a Steampunk band based in San Francisco,California. I thought you mightappreciate that two of ourmembers are of Latin origin. Iam a Chicano (my parents arefrom Jalisco, and I was born in theUnited States), and our guitarist Martin Irigoyen was born in

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I’m not sure if you are familiar wi th our music , bu t we haveexisted since 2003. We haveinspiration from a wide rangeof science fiction, and combinedifferent styles of music. Wemix progressive rock, neo-classical,new wave, Gothic and othergenres to create our sound.Guitar, bass, Calliope, harpsichord, organ, cello, and more are

present in our songs.

We invite you to listen to ourmusic and tell us what you think. We have always maintained an opendialogue with the fans because without them we wouldn’t exist.”




or not-, for you as Vernian Process,

what else is there in the Steampunk?

MI: The Steampunk has it all. It isone of the few movements where onecan decide if be spectator or participant. We also believe that the Steampunk brings certain message at the social

level. In a society where everything ismanufactured in mass, the individuality as artistic expression is an oasis of sanity and hope.

JZ: The community Steampunk dislikes talking about the socio-politicalside, but the philosophy of individualismand artistic expression are rmly rootedin its policy. To survive, the movementmust embrace its origins and its values. We strive to address sociopoliticalissues, among other things, in our music;as Verne and other science ction authors.

Currently is very noticeable the

boom that is touring the planet; for

example in the Spanish-speaking

world, the SP Spain Forum exists

since 2008 and SP Mexico was born

in mid-2010. Places like Argentina,

Colombia, Chile and Peru are showing

signs of virtual groups; what is your

opinion of this movement taking

place and the ways in which it’s

manifesting?

MI: It is fascinating how theSteampunk erased borders through theInternet. It is very common to enter aforum and see people from all over the world, sharing an interest in common.Either from Russia, Mexico or Australia, the Steampunk has the same roots inany part... how wonderful is that eachlives it in its own way, regardless of thenationality.

JZ: This is good news for the futureof the Steampunk. Some people in thecommunity think that the Steampunk may be too ethnocentric, due to its Victorian origins. The development of these new communities in other partsof the world will help to diversify themovement.

After little more than 20 years

of the birth of the Steampunk, its

d e v e l o p m e n t , g r o w t h a n ddissemination do you believe that we

are approaching a critical moment

where will become more than a fashion

or do you think it will take strength of

cultural movement, reaching changes

in various levels of our society?

JZ:Fashion and aesthetics of a subcultureis almost the rst thing the dominant culture will notice. This is what we have witnessedin recent years. The real challenge will beto prove to the world that the Steampunk movement is more of what appears.

MI: The Goth movement went out of fashion in the 1980s, but is still alive andhealthy. I think it depends on the peopleinvolved to make last the Steampunk culture.

Returning to you as individuals and

as the band name, how would you

describe what a Vernian Process is?

MI: In my personal opinion, is theprocess of transforming our music intosomething appropriate to listen to whileread Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, etc.

JZ: I think that it also implies that music makes more to convey an emotior atmosphere. A story, even if there no lyrics.

Are there on the agenda of VP a

visit or presentation close to Mexi

or some other Spanish-speaki

country?

MI: We’d love to! Having born araised in South America, nothing wogive me more pleasure playing for Latin America brothers.

JZ: I have cousins who would loto see us play in Guadalajara or MexCity.

And nally, what do you think

would take the Steampunk to ta

root in other country like Mexico?

MI: People willing to assimilate concept. Mexico is a country with a vrich and very old culture that has beable to receive new expressions withlosing identity.



Arizona territory, May 19th

The clock marked just the 12 noon when the four sentenced to death

by hanging were on the scaffold; the

ropes hung and surrounded their necks

already, when, according to the witnesses,

“the Earth began to shake and the sky to roar”.

“We didn’t know what was happening until we look towards the cloud of

black dust. At rst, we thought it was asand storm, so we hasten to execute the

convicts” said Charles Jay Drinkwine,sole survivor.

According to Drinkwine, the Marshordered shot the prisoner due to th

proximity of the alleged storm and th

huge weight of the convicted person

black slave of about 330 pounds. “Aaimed the slave with our pressurize

Uberti, but then out from nowheappeared the herd of buffaloes

stampede and literally trample

everything” said the victim. About hohe had survived he said: “I believe thit was the work of God”. Meanwhauthorities’ reports that they have n

found the corpse of the slave, th

possibility that he is still alive exist.

According to the Constitution of th

Confederate States, if after two da John H. Black does not appear, he w

be declared a fugitive slave, in additio

to the charges of destruction of tw

towns, Hawk’s Nest and Helvetia,

truly unusual ways.

R eading El Invest igador is as easy as reading any other

electronic publication, however there

is a section that is not so simple to

understand: Alternate History.

Well, this is the section that

brings the news more relevant of

the uchronic universe created by

Mercenarios de Dios to develop theirprojects as a collective.

This world has its protagonists

and antagonists, its heroes, antiheros,

villains and people like you and me.

Here you will nd clues about the

stories about Retrofuturism 1875,coming in the form of news; brought

directly of weird and wild west of

Reward 1875: in which a Ranger, Tadeo Solomon Taylor, tries to puttheir hands on a diverse group of

elusive bandits, who we will know

according to the news that we have

of them; slaves, fugitives, assassins,

mo r mo n s , Na t i v e A mer i c an s

and so; is it true what the Sabine

press has created around Chuck Olate

and his companions, or is a string of lies created by a master mind about

the allegedly guilty innocent lives?

Check out for the true, reading thenews of these uchronic lands where

the law of the strongest prevails and

corruption is the order of the day.

STAMPEDE

SAVES HIM!




Free State of Sabine, 1875(Located between the Confederate state of

Louisiana and the Republic of Texas)

“Give up, Chuck! Throw your weapon

and surrender! Just tell us where the

skull is and I promise I’ll let you go

back to Méjico! What do you say…?”I hear the proposal the ranger’s voice

made while I see the bullet holes on my

stomach. Looks bad. I turn my head to

look for my partners. I don’t hear any

of my muchachos , I see Búfalo Black,

Speakwithdeads and even inclement Clementine, everyone lying on the

ground… Dead? Who cares? I hear theRangers of the Republic coming close

and I see my hands looking for my

converted R&M. I watch with my only

eye, my hand dripping blood, my face

making a gesture of incomprehension…

What happened? This was neutral zone,

from Sabine River to Arroyo Hondo;from the Gulf until it abuts into Indian

Territory. It’s been No man’s land for

years… How did they get in here without

anyone noticing? Where’s that damnChinese when you need him? Ah, whatthe hell! I’ll have to see it myself! I lift

the patch that covers the empty socket

on the left side of my face; I daub with

blood both my eye and the metallic

sphere, similar to a clock’s mechanism

that I have as a replacement. Then the

tool of doom starts moving, free from

its mystical sheath that protects and

contains it. Each gear moves, each piecefollows one other consequently, like the

little strings colliding one another in

a little music box, only this song is an

infernal one. The mechanical eyelid it’s

about to open, I cover my right eye with

my bloody hand and my whole vision

becomes crimson until I begin to get

its perspective. The devil’s eye has been

activated.

Colored lights spinning incessantly, multicolored spheres colliding and

forming pieces of images that once

were, could have been or should have

been… Vivid colors speaking as if they

were singing songs in Indian languages,

oating gures that form vibrant, brightdrawings/pictures with designs so vivid

and pulsating …. The closest thing I’ve

seen in the real world are the ornaments

the Wixarikas make, back in Mexico.

Everything becomes less clear,according to the way how things look

like in the normal world, viewed with

normal eyes. Only that this vision

goes to the past, to the moment when

happened what I want to see. It’s the

past but at the same time it isn’t. It’s hardto explain, because even though I watch

scenes that last for several minutes,

for me and in my time seconds b

elapsed. Smith says that it is becaulook into a world different from o

one of spirits, holy angels and fears

demons. The only thing I know is w

I see, whether it’s past or future…

There’s some kind of obookshelves, a desk and a fancy arm

where a 70 year old man is sitBehind him, hanging on the wall, I

see a red pennant, crossed with

and white with thirteen stars distrib

throughout the cross: the SoutCross, the ag of the ConfedStates of America. The southernman stretches out a roll that he giv

who is in front of him.

The man in uniform takes the sc

the silver plaque with the ve-poistar that clearly states “Texas RanRepublic”, I recognize his factions. TSolomon Taylor, he’s been cha

me for years, I think I’m some kinobsession to him, to the extent tha

asked the Texas Senate to breakneutral zone and claim for itself w

he called “the den of outlaws, Indfugitive slaves, witches, Mexicans

the worst scum that humanity has

known”

Of course, the Republic refused

request because even though Louis

is a Confederate State everyone knthat French had never left and

never will, therefore the movem

could be taken as expansionist

create an expense that the Repu

wasn’t willing to take for a piece of

that gives them nothing. But souther

are quite a different thing, th

peculiar, so each state governs itse



their convenience, a lot of millionaires,

landlords and eccentric Europeanresidents would take any chance to seize

of anything they think they can take

any advantage from, even if it’s as small

as an ant, as in the case of Silvestre de Tonti, Mississippi’s landlord and owner

of Ton Time Technology.

A big boiler burns, tubular metallicconnections entangled without any

kind of order. A huge propeller and

what looks like a condenser. I nd acouple of boilers more and what appearto be turbines: A steamship. And what

a ship, nothing more and nothing less

than the Natches VII, able to travel

from New Orleans to Saint Louis in 2days, 13 hours and 27 minutes over theMississippi and also rumored, under

it. With machinery and eritronium

reinforcements. It’s a mechanical navalmonster.They land surprisingly right on

the north.

There are no lookouts nor warnings,

as sentinels in the river are dead; riddled

by the pair of Gatlings spewing all the

lead. They’re coming closer on, leaving

the horses in the Natches. The moonless

night hides them and they take advantage

from the fact that I could nally sleep

thanks to the brew of the gods that theIndians call tesgüino. It’s not the noise of

the bullets what wakes me up but the

pain.

Bangs and some agonizing screams

on the background tell me that the ght

is ending and some of my riders are still

with me.

“I don’t know anything about a skullthat you are talking about, Taylor!” Ianswer quick, trying to cover again with

the patch the infernal tool that releases

a spark when it’s back on its position,

that’s it, stay there before anything else

happens. I hear footsteps approaching

from both sides, I sit up as fast as my

reflexes allow me, leveraging the

hangover from using the eye. My

converted R&M spits its entire load,

eliminating ve of nine rangers. I comeback covered to reload my weapon, my

belly burns as if I just had eaten a kiloof chillies. Taylor screams again.

“Damn it, Chuck! I’m gonna pull off

your head with my own hands and I’llput it as a trophy on my cabin!”

I’ve been hearing that threat since I

know him, just this time I´m sure thathe can fulll it. I get up again withthe reexes of a diamond rattlesnake

when I hear noises again. I shoot with

precision right in one of my favorite

targets. I like stars; its ve pointsremind me of a person’s body that will

end up being a skull and bones. The

three rangers accompanying Taylor fallin a speed really out of this world, the

Texan waiting by my side. He welcomes

me with a heavy blow in my stomach

that pushes the bullets further inside

and bends me, pulling off my air justto be topped with a forehand drive on

my face. I fall to the oor aching andbruised by Taylor’s blows, I don’t have

time to react and his hands are holding

me by my neck against the wall.

“Where is the skull, dirty and lthy mejican? Finally I got you, god damnit!. You’re going to tell me where it is

and then I’ll rip your nasty, gruesome

head.”

The strength he imprints on my neck

it’s not natural. The blows I received

could have killed any other, that’s a fac

Tadeo Solomon Taylor now holds in hpower the sts of Hell. I can’t breathehave no strength to ght. They say th

when one is about to die, all your li

goes through your head in a matter oseconds. They say that if you’ve bee

bad, you will go to hell; that if you’re n

a man of faith in these lands away fro

God, the spirit may wonder witho

rest; that the devil comes for his childre

What I see now at the verge of deat

like a distant dream, is one of my outlaw

running and approaching the gringo

back with a shovel in his hand tryin

to make him let me go, but simply wi

a gesture of disdain on his face Tayl

backhand slaps that ips the neck omy soldier leaving his face crushed. I’

about to take my last breath and whe

the blackness of la niña blanca are fallin

over my eyes I distinguish the hug

silhouette of Buffalo Black approachin

with his enormous being and holdin

the ranger’s neck, pressing it witho

letting him breathe. Taylor runs th

same fate as two bulls, three bears an

over thirty men; I feel the oor hittin

me as I get free from Taylor aneverything blacks out.




@VictorianSteam



By J. Keats

At the beginning of the

20th century the famous pilot,

adventurer and heartthrob known as

the Great Leslie faces his nemesis,

the evil Professor Fate in a crazy

race from New York to Paris. With

them, the journalist Maggie Dubois,committed to defend the women

rights and to prove that she could

make the journey without the helpof any man, traveled with them.

Automobiles with impossible

gadgets, sabotage, persecutions and

vicissitudes of all kind, will happen

over thousands of miles, while they

pass through the American West,

Alaska and most of Europe.

In this cinema masterpiece, Blake

Edwards achieved a prowess: creating a comedy which combines perfectly

the adventure, the western or the

purest The Prisoner of Zenda style.

The Great Race is a lm that any fan of the Steampunk will enjoy,although not conforms fully to the

genre denition.

Tony Curtis plays the hero dressed inspotless white. Natalie Wood is a damsel

in distress but who is not intimidated to

nothing, and the great Jack Lemmon as

Professor Fate is the archetypal villain,

with top hat and twisted moustache, ca-

pable of creating all kinds of strange

vehicles but without making them to

work as he would like.

There are also ctional countries,

princes who are in danger of being supplanted and conspiracies that can

only be prevented with sword duels

in sinister castles. There is emotion,

romance and zero minutes of boredom

in more than two hours and a half of

duration.

In conclusion, a title that any fan

can’t lose and it deserves a place on

our shelf along with other jewels (also

with some Steampunk alike) as “ThoseMagnicent Men in Their Flying Machines” (1965) and “The Assassination

Bureau” (1969).

As a nal commentary, The GreatRace inspired a cartoon

series: The Wacky Races.

JKeatsSpanish writer and designer.

Administrator of FrankenRol,

a webs i te ded ica ted to

role-playing games. Author

of the “Los Mapas del Reino

Antiguo” in the publishing

house NoSoloRol. Memberof “Horned Dice Society”,a group with the initiative to

publish professional-quality

amateur games with the main

rule of having fun.

http://frankenrol.blogspot.com

“The Great Race”

Director

Blake Edwards

ProducersDick CrockettMartin Jurow

Writer Arthur A. Ross

MusicHenry Mancini

Photography Russel Harlan

Cast Jack Lemon Tony CurtisNatalie Wood

Peter Falk Keenan Wynn Vivian Vance




If you’re reading this, presumably

it’s because you have the slightest

notion of what’s the matter, right? But

on the other hand, if you came to this

magazine by mistake and we managed

to hook you with aesthetics, we poked

your curiosity and you want to know

more of what it’s all the movementabout, then, Welcome! You’re in the

right place.

The Steampunk movement, coldblood explained to you is a subgenre

of science ction, is a retro-futuristicgenre that focuses on the era of steam

power and mechanical technology

(Industrial Revolution).

To enter this exciting world we needto know more of the roots of where

the movement originated, in the case of

Steampunk are found in the “FantasticLiterature.”

Many great authors of this literature,

currently considered classics of universal

culture, are the food of the Steampunk imaginary, H. G. Wells, with his novels

“The Time Machine”, “The War of the Worlds” and “The Island of Dr.

Moreau”. Mark Twain’s “A Yankee inKing Arthur’s Court”. Arthur ConanDoyle with “The Lost World” and hisgreat “Sherlock Holmes”. H. P. Lovecraft

with his unspeakable monsters. Mary

Shelley and Bram Stoker with vampiresand monsters. And mainly Jules Verne,

they are those who forged the destiny

of this genre, little by little we will be

reviewing each of these authors, knowing

a bit about how and why their inuence

on Steampunk.

So, to open this column let’s

review to:

Jules Gabriel Verne

Born on the island of Feydem in theprovince of Nantes (western France)

on February 8th 1828, he was theeldest of 5 brothers in a family

devoted to the law, and with a strong military inuence, he began his formal studies in the year of 1939 where he

stands with his skills in Greek and Latinlanguages, from which is understood

his fascination with letters and strong attraction to technology.

The rst evidence of the attrac

felt by Jules Verne for mathemcome from his schoolmates, who

he spent the day sketching strying machines and other artifact

difcult understanding for them.

Biographers debate the momthat Verne decides to tell stories,

everyone agrees that his interest awakened by the sea and its mysteand from the conjunction of conto technology and journeys

born a work lled of forays into

technological future of man andgeographical conquests.

Finally decides to study law atSchool of Paris, at this time he whis rst play “Alexander VI” w

opens the way in literary circles, whe meets the Dumas family from

receives great inuence, both pers

and literary.

Following its strong interest in lethe has confrontations with his fa which leads to the separation of J

from his family and the beginninhis economic misery, resented in

physical health.

This does not stop his passionliterature and in 1850 wrote “broken straw” light comedy, sto

varied as “The Museum of Famil“Martin Paz”, “A Drama in Mexi

yet was not envisaged that woulgreat.

“As the heart beats, while esh becannot explain to myself a bein

endowed with will letting itself t

be dominated by despair.”



Verne’s work is rst essentially

a geographical work, an immenseamount of planetary exploration.

But also, his geography presents the

remarkable interest that is not only perfect and scientically documented,

but where could not reach the eyes of theexplorers, he had made his omniscient

powers of deduction, advancing many discoveries to his contemporaries.

In 1856 he married and began a

series of trips to fuel the imaginationof the author and is in Scotland wherehe wrote his rst science ction work, “Paris in the Twentieth Century” which presaged a society obsessed

with money and immediate

communication, is about a young manliving in a world of glass skyscrapers,

high-speed trains, gas cars, calculatorsand a global communications network,

but cannot achieve happiness andgoes to a tragic end.

So begin his prolic publishing stories under the name of “VoyagesExtraordinaires”, name which his long

series of novels is known, is a scientic sample of the progress of man in a

century of discoveries.

This collection includes titles such as“5 Weeks in a Balloon,” “Journey to the

Center of the Earth”, “From the Earthto the Moon”, “Children of Captain

Grant”, “Twenty Thousand Leaguesunder the Sea”, “the Mysterious Island”, “Around the world in 80

Days”, “Michael”, “The Sphinx of the ice”. During these dates contacts

the adventurer Felix Tournachon, who begins to investigate the scientic

advances that could be applied toying machines, those described in

“Five Weeks in a Balloon”. In 1865

published the passage of a trip to the

moon in two parts “From the Earth t

the Moon” and “Around the Moon

where there are great similarities withe true rst trip to the moon in 196

Jules Verne is the precursor omodern science ction and adventu

novels, believed in the imagination

an engine of progress, his main sour was nature. The sh inspired th

submarine; the swan, the boat; thbird, a plane. He was a visionary ahea

of his time, in his works that describethe great machines which shape thuniverse Steampunk.




The ships were to Verne more

than instruments to travel, were vehicles

leading man of his time through the

unexplored spaces in a real and safe

way, with scientic reliability, he wanted

the readers to believe in his travels

as true. He avoided by hook or by crook go beyond the limits of reality,

describing meticulously every part of

their function.

All Verne stories can be found

rigorous technical and scientic

explanations in which the writer

likes to dwell. However, he had no

science background, although an

insatiable thirst for knowledge thattook him regularly to the National

Library. And to write many of his

books interviewed various experts in

the elds he did not know. As a result,

artifacts or theories exposed in his

novels are very credible.

Some examples of these

creations are the submarine better

known as “Nautilus” (and perhaps the

most famous of his ships), the engine

was powered by electricity producedby batteries of a sodium-mercury

amalgam (sodium was extracted from

the sea). It had a turret, in which the

driver, protected by thick glass, could

direct the navigation of the ship, also

had a powerful electric reector, with

which it was possible to illuminate the

area around the ship that could go

high speeds. Had a triangular shaped

beak in one end, with which attacked

the ships, the Nautilus ended his days

in a cave described in the novel “The

Mysterious Island”.

In the novel “From Earth to the

Moon” Verne anticipates by more

than 100 years the Apollo project

that put man on the Moon, which

presents a space capsule that has

almost the same characteristics as the

one launched into space in the 60’s, ismanned by 3 persons and is launched

from a location very close to the

current Florida Kennedy Space Center

in Florida, touches down just 4

kilometers away from where the capsule

of Apollo VIII did, the duration of

the trip is much the same.

Another astonishment vehi

is the airship carrier of the no

“Robur the Conqueror” Known

“The Albatross”, the novel is about

progress of ballooning, which sho

a boat with many masts, a power

internal machine (probably electr

made to rote propellers crowning it

prevent turning on itself during iguses a propeller rotating in the oppo

direction. The entire ship has be

created based on pulp paper glued a

pressed under high pressure: this w

is lightweight and reproof at a tim

With the continuation of “Rob

(“The owner of the world”) presen

an update of “The Albatross” n

called “The Horror” by adding

feature of being a high-speed vehon the ground and also being

submarine.

In the novel “The House of Stea

presents a rare invention “The Ir

Giant” steam rolling machine shap

elephant which runs along the north

territory of India.



Here’s a short list of fabulous

EXTRAORDINARY SHIPS with

which can feed your dreams:

The Victory“5 Weeks in a Balloon”

The Nautilus“Twenty Thousand Leagues under the

Sea” and “Mysterious Island”

The Lunar Missile“From the Earth to the Moon” and

“Around the Moon”

The Great Eastern of “Floating City”

The Iron Giant“The House of Steam”

The Raft“The Raft”

The Albatros and Go A Head

“Robur the Conqueror”

I take my leave from you hop-ing that the article on Jules Verneand his relationship with Steampunk has been to your liking, we receivecomplaints, comments, questions and/or

clarications to the mail:

[email protected] orMercenaries of God’s Facebook page,See you next time!






by: Meyrilu Wendorf

Machinarum is a very dieselpunk

themed game. In it we can see how a

Little robot, assembled by yourself

with elements you nd in the screen,goes around nding various items that

will help him to complete missions

advancing through the game. This is

a point-and-click game (you must use

your mouse to interact), developed by

the creators of Samorost y Samorost2, an independient studio from Czech

Republic and called Amanita Design.

In the beginning of the game we can

see how a spaceship arrives to a waste

dump and leaves a shipload of garbage

and pieces of iron, which seems to be

useless, but with some inventiveness we

can assemble a little robot.

Once assembled, we go to a bridge

which the robot achieve to cross with

the user’s help, but when he attempts

to, there’s some oil dropped in the way,

and he slides off falling to some rails;

the game is composed by 30 levels.

The user’s got only one single hint

per level to solve the stage’s enigma,

and the curious thing about it is that

it doesn’t have any written dialogues

between characters, but they appear in

animated balloons, and that’s how the

user sees the dialogues, and more than

a strategy game that requires to think

with imagination, it’s all a funny puzzle

involving dieselpunk elements, such asindustrial units and diesel technology.

The three rst levels can be foundat the ofcial web* as a demo version and a complete version can be

downloaded for 20 dollars.

*http://machinarium.net/demo/




Imagine just for a minute, what if Jules Verne lived all those adventures in

a parallel world? Which one would be

his last adventure? From that starting

point begins Verne: Son of The Moon,a comic by the author Marco D. Carrillo,

who took care of making a characteristic

retro modernism of the works of Verne

himself. This is basically a history of love full of action and a huge cinematic

style.

Marco works as writer, cartoonist,

inker and colorist for this comic, that's

why this project lasted so much to be

released, because from the original

idea 5 years have passed, and althoughMarco himself says to have nished hismaster piece in 2010, it wasn't until the

last year that he could nish with thecolor.

Verne: Son of the Moon is already translated to English, and it's no surprise

to haven't been done in Spanishalthough it's the mother language

of the author because there was no

support from any sponsor yet and that's

why Marco is trying to bring it out by

his own methods and trying to put it on

sale in iTunes soon.

A whole love story full of action and

with a huge cinematic style. Fiction,action and romance is what you will

nd in this great comic, what else couldyou ask for?

V E R N ESON OF THE

MOON

More information in:

https://www.facebook.com/mdavidct.art

http://indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=67



N. Inmunsapá

This Retrofuturism is knownsince twenty-eight years ago being accessible for a public that isattracted to the aesthetic thatbelongs to this movement. Andhow not to be attracted into it?

In 1983 Lloyd Dunn coin the word in the art magazine “Retro-futurism” this involves the birth of the tendency in Creative Arts thatstarted to show an inuence in therepresentations of future, beforethe 60’s.

Four years later K.W. Jeter writesto the Locus magazine:

-“Personally, I think Victorianfantasies are going to be the nextbig thing, as long as we can come

up with a tting collective termfor Powers, Blaylock and myself.Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like“steampunks”, perhaps…”-

Thus was born the name of themost popular tendency nowadays;that covers and names othersubcultures and art styles like thedieselpunk, the new clockpunk literature and the atomicpunk attempt to get a site.

The other punks are thedemonstration and proof of whatI’m trying to say in this topic:Steampunk wants to become acultural movement.

The days of the Victorian fantasies written by three Californian young

authors is far away because now these Victorian fantasies are not only inliterature and comics but in the visualarts and, logically, the cinema, reaching the music, the dance and otherperforming arts, also the dramaturgy.

Gallery and Art Museum haveexhibited works that are inspired by thesteampunk aesthetics. To sum up theart has been invaded by the steampunk aesthetics.

We can nd a difference betweenother moments when all the countriesadopted an artistic wave, now each placearound the world have his own display that starts imitating the Victorian/Eduardian aesthetics or the “Jazz Age”in order to become a Retrofuturism of 19th Century (Steampunk) or a Retro-futurism of the period that includes the

World Wars (Dieselpunk) but with thecharacteristics of each country.

With the visual invasion starts anatural cultural movement. People startto be interested in different historicperiods. They spend time looking forthe possibilities of the technology andthe science or they study other aspectsof the societies of the time.

A lot of people think that they have discovered the magic spell whentake works as a “new” Retrofuturismonly taking the external appearance.

This behav iour makes name l ikedungeonpunk, biopunk, greenpunk,nanopunk, elfpunk, mythpunk… and alot more.

Although the true Retrofuturistic Wave is the result of some works with the objective of showing a new

and particular concept oppositeto the normal and fashionablepractice that wants to copy expressions that already existand to t them into a new wave.

And they forget that Steampunk,Dieselpunk and Clockpunk havea particular vision and their ownphilosophy that characterizesthem and allows us to distinguishbetween them beyond theaesthetics from one time to another.

They forget or don’t know whatthe cultural movement means and,although we aren’t in a movementyet, the possibilities to get it are alot.

This only can be gotten if we pay attention to the culturalarea, and with culture we can

understand this:

“and that culture gives man theability to reect on himself. It is thatmakes us specically human beings, rational, critical and ethically compromised. Through it wediscern values and make choices.

Through it man expresses,becomes aware of himself,recognizes his incompleteness,questions his own achievements,seeks tirelessly for new meanings

and creates works that transcendit.. ”

On the other hand we couldonly fall in to abrade the scene-And the public too- lling all withimages and names getting only a“fashionpunk” moment.

Creative Arts

Term used to describe the different ways of art, specically to presentart ideas, techniques, skills and mass

media. It’s used as a umbrella tothe drama, music (Musical theory,History of music and musicology),

Graphic Arts/Cartoons, Performing Arts, Film and Publishing, Galleries

and Museums and Visual Arts.

What was done once, can be repeated






JULES VERNE

IN MEXICO

By: N. Inmunsapá

To the Nantes-born French writer and author of the mostfamous adventure stories

that turned into classics like 20,000Leagues Under the Sea, From theEarth to the Moon, A Journey tothe Center of the Earth and Aroundthe World in 80 Days, among many

others, he has been attributed with various titles: Father of science

ction, visionary, a man ahead of histime and even has come to be called“prophet” by some. There are others in the retro-futuristic scene who callhim the steampunk grandfather orto qualify some of their stories and written as proto-steampunk. But what many seems to miss is that, rst

of all, Jules Verne was passionateabout traveling.

This is clearly dened over fty titles written over little more thanforty years, compiled in the collectionentitled “Voyages Extraordinaires”.

But not as many might believethat these extraordinary journeysbegan with Five Weeks in a Balloon,his rst novel, published in 1863.No, the rst of his trips was in 1851at the age of 23 when he ignores the writings of theatrical works and setshis sights on Mexican soil.

The rst ships of the MexicanNavy, is the rst account that Jules Verne wrote and was publishedin July 1851 in the journal Musée

des familles. This same story was

translated into English as “ThMutineers: A Romance of Mexicoin charge of William Henry GilKingston appearing as a supplemein the novel Michael Strogoff, ThCourier of the Czar published 1876 and that ended under the titof “A Drama in Mexico”.

In this story Verne narrates thinsurrection of two Spanish shipthe Asia and the Bergantín Constant where the captain is killed an

the rebels try to sell the boat tedgling Mexican government. Fothis, they travel from Acapulco Mexico City without knowing theare being pursued by loyal men the captain killed in the riot.

The journey that make thLieutenant Martínez and the seama José, describes the geography oMexico in 1825 with mention oplaces like Chilpancingo, Igual Taxco, Cuernavaca, Tenancingor Toluca or even archaeologic




sites like Xochicalco, located in the

current state of Morelos. The story isrich in topography and hydrography of the Mexican lands, as well asbotany, as Verne makes numerousreferences to the different variantsand plants that abound in thegeography of the described area.In A Drama in Mexico we won’t

nd any genius scientist or someextraordinary invention, neverthelesshow Verne describes a meal that Lt.Martinez and his companion Joséeat (chicken with green chili sauce,saffron rice, sweet pumpkin andthe classic tortillas) makes think to

anyone that the French writer setfoot once on Mexican territory.

Is known that Jules Verne visitedEngland, Scotland, Ireland, Spain,Norway, Denmark including New York, Albany and even NiagaraFalls, but none of his biographies orinterviews that were performed isknown of a trip to Mexico.

Then, how can a man who never visited Mexican lands make a story with descriptions as accurate as thoseachieved in A Drama in Mexico?

Probably due to two reasons:First Jules Verne was a writer who was characterized by his constantresearch being conducted in pub-lic or personal libraries, especially inthe areas of geography and botany,before science and technology. Thesecond one was very probably dueto his friendship with the explorerand writer Jacques Arago, who not

only was part of the Uranie crew

as an illustrator but also brother of Jean Arago, who was general in theservice of the Mexican army in the war of independence and Worthy Citizen in the year 1833.

Note that the rst ships that theMexican navy had were four Spanish ships that deserted in 1825 The Asia,the Constancia, the Aquiles and theCorbeta de transporte Gavinton,

therefore Verne’s story is based onreal events.

A drama in Mexico this is not theonly story of Jules Verne locatedon Mexican soil since it’s said thatone of his last writings is located inRosario Sinaloa, Mexico. I’m talking about The Eternal Adam whoseauthorship is questioned whether it

belongs to Jules or his son Michel,and published posthumously in 1910.

Whether The Eternal Adam is the work of Michel Verne and is simply based on the name of the projectEdom’s notes written by his father,

I like to think that as his rst s was located in Mexico, so waslast . That way is like Jules Verne from the beginning of his wricareer to the end of it, in Mexico



By: Hodson Hawk

There are many reasons why the Victorian era is considered the Golden Age of the British Empire. Not only the economic and social stability cameat a time where social inequalities

were as big as scientic advances,but the huge explosion of advancesin production, communications andtransportation allowed the existenceof a global colonial governmentfacilitated by the ability to improvethe response time of all regionalgovernments.

At a time when the great modernempires grew and spread acrossve continents populated by man,

Victorianism quickly became the spiritof the time. The idea of progressand mastery of time through greaterefciency in transport and production

was a constant among all the nationsof the world, and those who had thepower to launch big technology andconquest ventures, had secured abright future in the international area.

The Victorian era was undoubtedly the light bulb that shines light uponthis century. It was the time whenbig government combined a visionof the future and the present into animmediate moment that inspiredprosperity and development.

For those living in First World

countries, it is easy to imagine a gloriouspast that never ceased to be, andit is done through an alternatetechnological advanced reality. Whetherit’s a world of steam or of world war,to imagine that moment of past glory is not a particularly difcult endeavor.

But I dare to say that for those who live this kind of retro-futurismfrom the Third World, must be a little

more difcult to imagine a glorious pastdrawn from the very distant past of their own 19th century. Just rememberthat the Victorian era was the era of colonialism. The steampunk retro-futurism of the Victorian era in England is diametrically different from Latin

American’s Victorian era, for example,at least conceptually.

This is often reected in the very limited amount of retro-futuristic worksthat are created in Latin Americancountries using their own past incomparison with the big paraphernaliabased on countries such as England,France, Germany, Spain, United States,Russia, China, Japan or Italy, which

were at the forefront of history whentalking about colonization.

To think about a glorious Victorian

era effected countries like Mexico, which faced a period of transitionalchanges, is a little harder for people.

The 19th century was when Mexico was born as an independent country ina continent that began to break away from the domination of Europe and

when the borders of the new Latinonations began to take their shape.

By 1821, Mexico had just achievedindependence, and the country rstattempted to establish an imperial

government under the gure of Agustín de Iturbide - the rst and only recognized Emperor by Mexicangovernment, but who was later exiledby his own independence movementbecause of pol i t ica l and socia ldisagreements - and this established therst Republic of Mexico.

The independence of Mexicotriggered the independence of eightdifferent countries. After the fall of the rst Mexican Empire, Guatemala,

Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, CostaRica, Nicaragua and the republics of Yucatan and Chiapas, which later werere-annexed to the Republic of Mexico,declared independence. The Republicalso still retained the territories of Texas,New Mexico and southern California.

Therefore, while nations suchas England, France, Germany andthe United States experienced an

economic, technological and militaryboom, Mexico just began to forgean identity, and its rst attempts as anation were led by military forcesrather than by democratic statesmen.One such an attempt oat political rule

was embodied by the eleven non-consecutive times General AntonioLopez de Santa Anna ruled the country

in Mexico’s rst 40 years as acountry. His administration gaveadjustments to the domestic andforeign policy of the countrysome of them were ridiculous,such as the tax collection basedon the doors and windows in eachhouse. Others were foreign policydisasters such as the war againstthe United States in 1846 and 1848.

The rst war was driven rst by theseparation of Texas. Later, he ledthe campaign which ended in the

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, whichceded the territories later known asCalifornia, Nevada, Utah and NewMexico and parts of Arizona, Colorado,

Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma tothe United States for a ridiculouslysmall amount of $15 million dollars,though the amount of land was morethan half of Mexican territory.

Following these wars and theoverthrow of Santa Anna, the MexicanMagna Carta was rewritten, thus

beginning a period of politicalreforms that lead to the success of thefederalist state led by President Benito

Juarez. The re-founded Republicis threatened again, however, thistime by the French invasion and thecreation of the Second MexicanEmpire, which tried to set upMaximilian of Hapsburg as Emperorof Mexico.

It is during the Franco-Mexican War that granted Mexico its only

major military victory in the nineteenthcentury. On May 5, 1862, Mexicanforces clashed with French troopson the outskirts of Puebla, under thecommand of the General IgnacioZaragoza, they managed to defeat theinvaders.

From that victory, the people ofMexico were lled with a renewedspirit in their resistance against the

Victorianism without Victoria

Also published on Beyond Victoriana




invaders. Guerrillas were constantly undermining the French army and thechange in the European political sceneallowed Mexico to be triumphantin the War of French Intervention in1867.

Unfortunately, the weakened Mexican state suffered under a new

military and political movementsafterwards, which led to the creationof the dictatorship of the GeneralPorrio Diaz from 1876 to 1910.Ironically, this time period also endedup being the peak time of Mexicaneconomic growth and technologicaldevelopment.

Interestingly, it is this point inhistory that many Mexicans use asbasis for its aesthetics and steampunk characters. This later time period that

we know of as the Mexican Revolutionin the early twentieth century alsoacted like a late call to join the spirit of technological renovation andindustrialization that had been held by the European powers. The Mexicans of the late nineteenth century conceived many elements of progressand technological heritage from theFrench, who were a major presencein the country’s development during this century. Both the fashion andlifestyle, cuisine, style of education,

politics, economics and technology came from the French style.

From this period the phenomenonof Mexican historical revisionism forsteampunk can be established. In the

world of parallel realities, Mexicansteampunk can be drawn from theirexperiences of the Old West fortheir own use, taking advantage of the weakness of political boundariesduring America’s colonization of theFar West.

Mexican steampunk history cancreate new independent states orterritories which are formed by parts of lost territories. In Mexicansteampunk, technology can not only reinvent the fashion of the time,but also reinvent the story, allowing the re-writing of history andpolitical boundaries. In this view of retrofuturism, Mexico is more glorious

than it was and its economic andmilitary power is more on par with theirindomitable spirit. The attitudes of resistance in the era that are evident inthe Mexican retro-futurism can breathenew life into the idea of “what if the

world had been different?”

Remembering the difcult parts of

our histories is often painful, considering that many of these nations andterritories had a Victorian era without

Victory, having neither the Queen northe concept of winning. The advantageof retro-futurism, however, is thatyou can create a different past, wherenot only the culture and technology took a different path, but the story haschanged. So the retro-futurism thatseems destined for the elite of the First

World, becomes the new opportunity for Third World countries to create a

glorious past in the present.

You just have to look at the kindsof character types that are common inLatin American storytelling compared

with the Europeans and Americans,for example. While most American andEuropean character types are basically Gentlemen/Ladies, Adventurers,Scientists, Engineers and monster-hunters, in Mexico we have, in addition to thosealready mentioned, Priests, Generals,Mercenaries, Cowboys, Sheriffs,

progressive Indigenous peoples,Statehooders and Preachers. Thesecharacters are not only different, they

are also more directly linked to opast and reect perfectly the sociclasses and occupations developeat that time. It is during this perio

where a sense of identity of the necentury and more innovative Mexicasteampunks look to their own parather than looking back to the Eu/ U.S. in an effort to reclaim th

lost history of defeat and the 19century represented to this nation.

This tendency to change the pato make the Third World countrimore competitive may be the secrof success in these na t ionretro-futuristic ideas. In Latin Americsteampunk has spread almo

virulently in the minds of enthusias without any advertising beyond thsteampunks themselves among therelatives and the occasional curiou

observer.

Although the above countrilived Victorianism without Victorsteampunk in particular has enablecountries that were exploited bthe spirit of European colonialisa chance for historical-literary reveng

The transformation of losers winners is what drives the revolutioof ideas in the minds of the followeof retro-futurism. After all, thimagination is still the fuel of min

and passion that drives our spirit.






By:

Araceli Rodríguez

The Race for the Roses! Horse racing is perhaps one of the sports that give

more pleasure to the gentlemen of high society, but

not without the rest of the population.

Perhaps the attraction is its very short duration,

or perhaps large sums to be won in bets.

Attracted to the sport, Colonel Meriwether LewisClark, Jr. was one of the founders of the Louisville Jockey Club in order to raise funds for the races

outside the city. He, along with his cousins, John and Henry

Churchill donated part of the lands they had inherited was built for the race track, due to this,

now known as Churchill Downs.

And it was at Churchill Downs where he openedKentucky Derby, the May 17, 1875.

The most exciting two minutes in sports. The colt named Aristides won the inaugural race

half mile run, equivalent to 2.4 kilometers with a duration of 2 minutes 37 seconds 75/100.

The race for the roses is the name given

commonly because it delivers a crown of roses 554the colt winner. Tradition that began in 1883 whensocialite E. Berry Wall give away roses to the ladies

present in the after-party of the year.

The Kentucky Derby has beenall continued success

since 1875!

/Mercenarios.de.DIOS

@MercenariosDIOS



Documents

El Investigador #03 (English)